Ohio Wants More Kids in Food Program

Ohio education and food program officials want to increase the number of children in low-income areas who participate in a program that offers them free breakfasts or lunches during the summer, when they're not getting meals at school.

Increasing access and participation in the federally funded Summer Food Service Program was the focus of a summit Monday in Grove City. It came on the heels of news that a record high of nearly 841,000 Ohio students, or about 45 percent, are eligible for free or reduced-cost school lunches based on their family incomes.

Less than one-fifth of eligible children participated in the summer program last year, according to the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks and the Ohio Department of Education, which runs the program.